Trump Rallies Supporters In Florida, Talks About 'Incredible Progress' And 'Big, Bold' Plans For The Future

WASHINGTON (CBSNewYork/AP) — Taking a break from interviewing potential candidates for his new national security adviser, President Donald Trump spoke to supporters at an airport hangar in Melbourne, Florida on Saturday.

The president was introduced by First Lady Melania Trump, who led the crowd in the Lord's prayer.

"The America we envision is one that works for all Americans, and where all Americans can work and succeed. A nation committed to a greater civility and unity between people from all sides of the political divide," she said. "I will always stay true to myself and be truthful to you, no matter what the opposition is saying about me. I will act in the best interest of all of you."

"I'm committed to creating and supporting initiatives dear to my heart, which will have an impact on women and children all around the world," she added. 

Trump greeted the crowd, saying he was happy to be in Florida, "where we all had great victory together."

"It was been one month since my inauguration, and I am here to tell you about our incredible progress in Making America Great Again," he said. "And I'm also here to tell you about our plans for the future, and they're big, and they're bold, and it's what our country is all about. Believe me."

Trump said he wanted to address people without the filter of what he called the "fake news" media.

"Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln, many of our greatest presidents fought with the media and called them out oftentimes on their lies," he said.

The president went on to outline his efforts to bring jobs back to America, replace the Affordable Care Act, secure the nation's borders and protect law enforcement.

He promised to issue a new travel ban next week and applauded ongoing immigration raids targeting undocumented immigrants with criminal records.

"Get them the hell out of here, bring them back to where they came from," he said.

He also promised to unveil a new health insurance program very soon.

"We are going to be submitting in a couple of weeks a great health care plan that's going to take the place of the disaster known as Obamacare," he said.

Trump even had some fun calling up a supporter from the crowd, hugging the man and inviting him to take the podium.

"Thank you sir! We the people, our movement, is the reason why our president of the United States of America is standing here in front of us today," Gene Huber said.

"I wouldn't say the Secret Service was exactly thrilled with that, but we know our people," the president added.

For Trump, the rally offered an opportunity to recapture the energy of his upstart campaign and to connect with his supporters.

Trump spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump wanted to "speak directly to people across this county in an unfiltered way, in a way that doesn't have any bias."

Big rowdy rallies were the hallmark of Trump's presidential campaign. He continued to do them, although with smaller crowds, throughout the early part of the transition, during what he called a "thank you" tour.

The event Saturday was put on by Trump's campaign, rather than the White House. Asked if it was a rally for the 2020 election, Sanders called it "a campaign rally for America." Trump himself promoted his appearance on Twitter on Friday: "Looking forward to the Florida rally tomorrow. Big crowd expected!"

During an appearance Friday at a Boeing plant in South Carolina, Trump slipped back into his campaign's "America First" message with ease.

"America is going to start winning again, winning like never ever before," he said, as the company showed off its new 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft. "We're not going to let our country be taken advantage of anymore in any way, shape or form."

Earlier Saturday, the president planned to interview his new picks for national security adviser, John Bolton, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, according to a White House official. The official said both meetings would take place at Mar-a-Lago, the president's private club in Palm Beach.

The official was not authorized to discuss the interview process publicly and insisted on anonymity.

Trump will spend the weekend working to replace ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump's first choice -- retired Vice Adm. Robert Harward -- turned down the offer.

The president tweeted Saturday morning that he "will be having many meetings this weekend at The Southern White House."

Finding a new national security adviser has proved challenging for the president. He had also expressed interest in former CIA Director David Petraeus, but Press Secretary Sean Spicer, said Saturday Petraeus was not a finalist for the position, CBS News reported.

Petraeus, a retired four-star general, resigned as CIA director in 2012 and pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor charge of mishandling classified information relating to documents he had provided to his biographer, with whom he was having an affair.

Flynn resigned at Trump's request Monday after revelations that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about discussing sanctions with Russia's ambassador to the U.S. during the transition. Trump said in a news conference Thursday that he was disappointed by how Flynn had treated Pence, but did not believe Flynn had done anything wrong by having the conversations.

Trump, who defended himself at Thursday's marathon news conference, continued his rants against the news media Saturday, tweeting: "Don't believe the main stream (fake news) media. The White House is running VERY WELL. I inherited a MESS and am in the process of fixing it."

Trump will continue interviewing the remaining candidates Sunday, according to Spicer.

Meanwhile, the president's Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly said Saturday they are working on a "tighter, more streamlined version" of his executive order on immigration. Kelly said this time he wants to "make sure that there's no one caught in the system," as they move from overseas to American airports.

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